Egyptian gold stater

The gold stater (Egyptian: nfr-nb, "Nefer-nub", meaning "fine gold") was the first coin ever minted in ancient Egypt, around 360 BC during the reign of pharaoh Teos of the 30th Dynasty.

Gold stater of Nectanebo II: reverse with hieroglyphs nfr-nb

Under Teos

Teos introduced the gold stater in order to pay salaries of Greek mercenaries who were at his service.

• Gold stater with the same weight of a Persian daric (around 8.42 grams), with an owl on the left, modelled after the Athenian model, and a papyrus on the right.
• Gold stater as a tetradrachm, with an owl on the left and an olive branch on the right, with the Demotic writing "Teos... Pharaoh".

Under Nectanebo II

Teos' successor Nectanebo II kept this practice, though coining his personal gold staters.

• Gold stater as a daric (about 8.42 grams, a little over 1⁄4 troy ounce), obverse with a prancing horse on the right,^[1] reverse with the hieroglyphs nfr-nb.
  • Nefer depicts a heart and trachea; it means "perfect, complete, good."^[2]
  • Nub depicts a gold necklace whose ends drape off either side and six pearl pendants dangling from the middle; it means "gold."^[3]
• Small gold stater (about 2.56 grams, 1⁄12 troy ounce; diameter 14–15 mm, 0.6 inch), with a probable picture of a leaping gazelle. Its attribution to Nectanebo II, however, is not confirmed.

See also

• Money portal

• Ptolemaic coinage